Chapter Seventy: The Hesitation That Holds More Than Just Words
Chloe
"A beach, really?"
Her voice was sharp, clipped, carrying more tension than she intended.
Her fingers curled against her palm as she looked at him, unreadable, uncertain.
"Acting like we're close, are we?"
Kian didn't react to the edge in her tone.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't counter with something equally sharp.
Instead—he just looked at her.
Steady.
Soft.
Like he knew exactly what she was doing.
Like he knew she was resisting—resisting more than just his invitation, resisting more than just his presence, resisting the truth of something she wasn't ready to name.
"Let's just unwind," he said simply. "I know you're exhausted from working."
The words pressed in lightly, effortlessly, without weight—but she felt them anyway.
And that?
That irritated her.
She folded her arms, exhaling slowly.
"If I don't want a beach?"
He was patient.
"As an alternative—let's go to a bar. Just like the old times."
Chloe stiffened.
A bar?
No.
Not now.
Not when there was something lingering in her chest.
Not when she wasn't ready to drown it in alcohol, in dim lighting, in familiarity that would undo her resolve far too quickly.
She inhaled slowly, gaze flickering slightly.
It wasn't that she feared his feelings.
It was that she feared hers.
She had a son.
She had built a life separate from him.
She had decided long ago that she wasn't worthy of Kian anymore—not after everything.
Not after the decisions she made, not after Carter, not after the past unraveled the way it did.
And yet—her brother had slipped.
Damian had let the truth spill between drinks one night.
Kian never had anyone after her.
Never moved forward.
Never let himself exist with someone else in ways he had existed with her.
And that?
That terrified her.
Because for the first time—she wondered.
What if she had asked?
What if she had made things clear before walking away?
What if she had just—stayed?
Her throat tightened.
Her mind tangled.
She wasn't ready to say yes.
But she wasn't ready to say no either.
And so—she hesitated.
Because now, more than ever, she wasn't sure if she was ready to listen, ready to face the past, ready to step back into Kian's life once more.